That intense light forced Natsume to close her eyes. As the light faded, the girl slowly opened her eyes and found out she was no longer at the park. Instead, she was alone, in the center of a meadow full of grass. The sky was dark and thousands of stars shone up ahead, along with two round white “moons” that lined up one on top of the other.

-What the...- murmured Natsume.

-What a view, right?- asked Blitz, which had recovered its original form and floated around Natsume. -Did you enjoy the travel? For first-timer creatures like you, the first interdimensional trip is a wonderful experience, isn’t it?

Natsume was really surprised by all the events and the change of scenery, but deep inside, she wasn’t that amazed, as she had something more important in mind. She looked at Blitz.

-What now?- simply asked Natsume.

-Wow, what a mood-killer, right?- exclaimed Blitz disappointed. -Follow me, it’s just up ahead.

Blitz began floating, shining in the middle of all that darkness, which made it easy for Natsume to follow. They barely moved for five minutes until they glimpsed what seemed to be a fancy camp tent, or so Natsume thought. Upon closer look, its appearance was more like a tent from a European medieval movie, all covered in red colors.

-Commander! I brought her!- shouted Blitz as they both got closer to the tent.

After those words, someone came out of the tent. A tall woman, around 35 years old, with blonde hair tied in a long ponytail that fell back on her back. She was wearing a metal armor, colored in a similar way as the tent. The “commander” looked at Blitz a bit annoyed.

-It took you quite long- claimed the woman. -You left this morning.

-I had to do some research first… Also, I got a bit lost- answered Blitz.

The woman simply sighed and then looked at Natsume.

-Greetings- said the woman cheerfully. -My name is Elima. Elima Montert, pronouns she/fae, Commander of the Royal Army from the Kingdom of Gat-Erol and also your supervisor during your stay in this world. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Natsume didn’t say anything, but bashfully inclined a bit to return the lady’s greeting.

-I must say, I’m surprised someone this young got invited to the tournament, especially from a “concealed” world- continued Elima.

-”Concealed world”?- asked Natsume.

-It’s the name we assign to worlds that, in a few words, don’t produce any “mana” or energy that provide their creatures special powers or abilities- explained Elima. -You humans don’t have anything except for you intelligence and dexterity, so you can’t use “magic powers” as you would call them.

Natsume slightly understood the explanation, but wasn’t that much interested.

-So… what now?- asked Natsume.

-Well, now it’s time for your trial- exclaimed Elima.

-Wait, what trial?- asked Natsume confused.

Nobody said a word. Elima half-closed her eyes and turned towards Blitz.

-Blitz, haven’t you told Natsume about the trial?- asked Elima with happy face.

The floating ball made a slight “Ups!” before Elima took it with her hands and “picked its cheeks” like children did.

-I told you to explain everything to the contestants before they agree!- exclaimed Elima.

-It was all too fast!- answered Blitz. -She accepted so quickly I forgot!

-What about Guardian Clash? Have you told her the rules?- asked Elima again.

Another “Ups!” followed by another “cheeks pulling”. Natsume looked at the scene from afar, thinking “So weird”, but didn’t say anything. After a while, Elima released Blitz and sighed.

-OK, look, Natsume. You have been invited into the tournament, but that doesn’t mean you are already in- explained Elima. -Before that, you must pass a small trial. It’s actually very simple, just to check that you understand the rules of this game and see your skills. Now, let me explain what “Guardian Clash” is about.

Elima snapped her fingers and made a round, light ball appear out of nowhere. The ball was bigger than Blitz and, although it was made of light, it shone softer. The commander grabbed the ball with her hands.

-”Guardian Clash” is a style of fighting that our world developed a long time ago to stop useless, harming fights. Instead, all conflicts are resolved with this special fight mode. The rules are very simple: two contestants fight each other to take control of the ball, and the creature who possessed the ball for the most time by the end of the battle, wins. Good so far?- explained Elima.

No words came out from Natsume’s mouth as she looked weirdly at the woman holding the ball. That explanation reminded her of…

-Wait a minute… This is soccer! Are you kidding me?- exclaimed Natsume. -OK, now it looks more to a joke!

-Wait, what is “soccer”?- asked Elima as she pulled out a smaller light sphere and passed her finger on it. Natsume couldn’t see it, but the sphere was filled with strange symbols that Elima understood and read really quickly. After a while, the commander continued. -All right, it seems “soccer” is a specific sport in your world, but… it’s mostly different… The only similarity is that players move around with a ball while others try to take it… and there are light confrontations… Yeah, that part is quite similar, but everything else is completely different, I promise. So don’t worry, this is not a joke or something I made up.

Little by little, Natsume calmed down a bit. She couldn’t still believe that she was taking part in something that similar.

-So, as I was saying, two fighters, one ball, the one who holds it the most time wins, but there’s more- explained Elima. -You can use any part of the body, tool, magic or weapon to touch the ball. Of course, you can attack your rival directly to steal the ball or to defend yourself, but any serious injuries are forbidden. Oh, very important: at all times, at least half of the ball must be accessible to the rival. For example, you can’t hide it by swallowing, hiding it under the ground or in a pocket dimension. The rival must always have the chance to steal the ball, it’s up to you to keep it protected. There is another way of winning by making your rival unconscious without harming them too much, we call that “Absolute Victory” condition, understood?

Natsume nodded. The rules seemed simple for her, and it didn’t look much different as what she had been doing during the last month. Picking fights using a soccer ball? She already had experience.

-Very well. Then your trial is very simple: you must take this ball from me- said Elima, then she dropped the ball on the floor and stomped it. -I won’t put a fight, but will try to avoid you. You have… wait, let me adjust to your measures… 10 minutes. If you can’t take the ball in 10 minutes, you fail.

Hearing those words, Natsume got in position to run as fast as possible. Elima could see in the girl’s eyes how serious she was.

-OK, are you ready? We begin… now!- exclaimed Elima.

Everything happened so fast. All Natsume felt was her face on the grass as she fell down. The girl got on her knees and turned around: she was around 5 meters away from Elima and the tent. Natsume was in shock, while Elima was slightly surprised.

-What the? What just happened?- exclaimed Natsume.

Elima rubbed her eyes with her fingers, looking frustrated.

-You didn’t tell her about her new powers, right?- asked Elima to Blitz, who just did another “Ups!”.

The commander sighed, approached Natsume and helped her stand up.

-I’m sorry, it seems you were barely informed about… everything- said Elima. -Since you come from a concealed world, it would be unfair for you to fight with your basic skills. You see, all creatures from all dimensions come here, and they have unique abilities and powers. For that, creatures like you are given a random skill, that is, a power that adapts according to you, as well as some enhancements in your physical prowess. The skill takes more time to appear, but you already have additional strength and speed. It may take some time for you to adapt, but I’m sorry to say I can’t delay the trial much longer.

Natsume looked at her shaking hands. Up until that moment, she didn’t process some of the information she got: in that fight, there would be weapons and magic she only saw in anime, and there was no way for her to fight… until then. At that moment, she got some powers for herself that would allow her to stand up and keep going. Assimilating that information, she looked at the commander.

-Can I have… 5 minutes? For a quick warm up- asked Natsume.

Elima looked at her clock, evaluating the time.

-Sure, 5 minutes is good. We will begin again after you’re done, all right?- said Elima happily.

Natsume didn’t waste any second. She quickly stood up and began moving around: running, side-steps, push-ups… She did a variety of exercises with Elima and Blitz looking at her amazed. That was quite different from the warm ups the commander was used to. After a few minutes, Natsume stood up and stretched her arms.

-Good, I think I’m ready- said Natsume, who got into position.

-Are you sure?- asked Elima with curiosity. -If you say so, let’s start. Ready?… Now!

Again, everything happened so fast. In a second, Elima couldn’t see Natsume in front of her anymore and felt she lost balance and almost fell on the grass. The commander looked at her feet: the ball vanished as well, but she felt Natsume’s presence behind her. As she turned around, she saw the girl crouched a few meters behind her with the shining ball on her feet. Natsume’s face was as sad as always.

-Wow… In just one second…- murmured Elima.